7. Welcome Home
Weary Stranger

I stood in front of the door, afraid to enter. Something had happened to me. My mind was working for the very first time. Max had meant so much to me, and yet he had reminded me of someone. Someone I cared deeply for. But of course. Why hadn't I realized it before? I rushed in to see if my suspicions were confirmed.

I stood there in the shadows where she couldn't see me. Maya stood over the stove in her matronly apron. I felt so many things towards this woman -- gratitude, indebtedness, warmth and a deep, deep bond that transcended all time.

Maya turned around and her beauty was overwhelming. I was filled with the idealized admiration that sometimes fills young boy's hearts when it comes to their mother. She was the most beautiful one in the world, and I would never leave her side. I was proud and brave and I would defend this maiden from harm of any kind, for I was her young knight, and who else did she have to defend her from the ravages of time. Yes, I would defend her. I would hold back the future so that she would always be the same, and...

"Oh, Ward," Maya laughed and she ran over and hugged me. I held her tightly, rubbing my head in her matronly roundness. "Ward, you're making so much progress," she sighed, "but do I have to be so...well... maternal?"

"Huh?"

"And you're starting to think now, for yourself, I mean. Maybe you can stop making me into Wizards and boys and mothers and witches and blind Seers and..."

Something suddenly fit inside. The protective packaging that is supposed to be removed before use rattled free and fell away. It was all so clear now. The mask of impressionable innocence and boyish ignorance had been cast aside and I could finally See. It had been Maya all along. She had been my guide and teacher.

I stared at her, and I saw her as she really was -- a woman with power. She had molded me and guided me and taught me how to walk and run. I was not a boy at all. I was a man with a power of my own, and now we would walk together, side by side.

Maya smiled. Of course she could read every thought I would ever think. Of course she knew me, deeper than I would ever know myself. Part of me realized that she was probably only just a part of me, as she had played so many parts in my life already. But that was alright. Now I knew all the Answers. They were so clear in that moment of absolute clarity, and yet I also knew I'd never see it all in the same light again once this moment passed. The Truth would run and hide in the shadows of confusion. But in that moment I knew that I was the Master of all the illusions of my life. My Purpose was still not clear, but I was sure that I had to face and change all the illusioned perceptions that imprisoned my fated existence. And yet, she would be the only charade that I would keep with me as we begin together along the road towards my ultimate destination as the one who was Chosen in the Plan.

"Welcome home," Maya whispered as the night wrapped about us in sensual delight.

 


©: 1992-2015 Robert Alan Silverstein

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